Sliding-clasp fastener



May 11, 1954 T. B. STUE 2,677,952

SLIDING-CLASP FASTENER Filed Nov. '7, 1949 INVENTOR. '9YV gi s a;

Patented May 11, 1954 UNITED STATES TENT OFFICE 2,677,952 SLIDING-CLASP FASTENER Tryggve B. Stue, Oslo, Norway;

Ingrid Stue, ex-

The present invention relates to improvements in sliding-clasp fasteners of the type in which the slider may be fixed by means of a lock dethe article which the fastening is intended to close.

A further object of the invention is to provide a lock, of simple construction and operable by a key, which look can serve to secure the slider may serve as a snap fastener for preliminary securing of the slider.

The invention accordingly clasp fastener of projection preferably produced by stamping and bending over of the material of the member.

A latch member as aforesaid may have at least one lateral recess or notch for co-operating with a detent member displaceably mounted in the lock. Desirably, the latch member may have a spatulate head with a neck affording opposite recesses adapted to be engaged by opposed detent members of the lock.

The invention further provides, for use with a sliding clasp fastener the slider of which has a latch member as aforesaid, a lock having at least one detent member movable transversely of the latch member into locked engagement with the latch member by guide means displaceable within the lock.

The or each detent member may be resiliently mounted or inherently resilient and thereby displaceable when unlocked into or from engagement with the recess or recesses in the latch member by insertion or extraction of the latch member into or from the lock.

Preferably, the lock has a detent member which is substantially U-shaped With resilient arms the free ends of which are each provided with a inwardly directed lug or projection, as by inward bending of the material of the arm, and

the distance between the lugs on said arms is less than the width of the head of the latch member.

Such a detent member may be mounted in the lock with its base immovable, and a displaceable member or plate following description of an embodiment of a lock and slider assembly, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing in which: a perspective view of the separated main components of the lock,

Figure 2 is a plan view of the assembly with the lock casing removed,

Figure 3 is a vertical, longitudinal section through the assembly as shown in Figure 2,

Figure 4 is a section of a detail taken along the line IVIV of Figure 2, and

Figure 5 is a partial plan View of in the released position of the lock.

As shown in the drawing, portions l and 2 of an article, such as a bag or the like, are interconnectable by means of a sliding-clasp fastener the tapes or halves 3 of which are secured along the respective edges of said portions. hook members of said halves are mutually interengaged or released by a slider l which at the upper side thereof is provided with an eye-shaped projection 5. To the slider 4, preferably turnable in the longitudinal direction thereof, about the eye of projection 5, is secured a latch memher 6 serving to co-operate with a lock,

the assembly On its upper side the latch member 6 is provided with an. eyeor hook-shaped projection it preferably produced by stamping out and bending over of the material of the latch member, in which projection ill may be secured if desired a ring or the like serving as a handle.

The lock co-operating with the latch member 6 of the slider comprises an open, tray-like casing I i (shown inverted) having end and side walls l2 and !3 respectively. In one of the end walls is provided a slot-shaped aperture l4 adapted for insertion of the latch member 5, and the opposite end wall has a downwardly projecting securing tongue l5.

In the casing l i is lodged a plate is of channel shaped cross section and of a length and width corresponding to the inner length and width respectively of the casing H. Bent-up side portions lb of the plate it serve to hold the plate at a certain distance from the top surface member of easing H. At one end the plate it has a tongue H which is adapted to project through the aperture l4- in the end wall of the casing ll.

The lock is secured to the portions I, 2 of the article by means of a clamping plate is placed at the inner side thereof, about one end of which plate is bent the tongue I! protruding through the aperture It, as shown in Figure 3, and about the outer end of which is bent the tongue i5 of the casing end wall i2 after having been passed through the material of the article. The plate It may also be provided with tongues if) to be passed through the material of the article, inserted into corresponding slits 2G in the plate l8 and bent over as additional means oi? securing the plate ES to the lock. As will be understood, the plates 16, I8 and the casing ii may be interconnected in other ways and by other means, provided only that a reliable interconnection of the parts is obtained.

The inner plate i8 is at both sides of its front end by means of slits 2i provided with free portions 22 which by depression are bent into channel-shape, so that the edges '23 thereof are directed upwards, as shown. In mounting and securing the lock said edges 23 together with opposed portions of the edge of the apertured end wall !2 of the casing H are clamped upon the tapes 3 carrying the hook-members of the fastener, and between adjacent members thereon, whereby a reliable interconnection between the lock and the sliding-clasp fastener is obtained, and at the same time the effective length of the fastener may be limited, so that the usual stop members on the sliding clasp halves may be dispensed with.

Opposite the aperture Hi, within the casing H, the plate i6 is provided with parallel angle pieces 2:1, preferably stamped and bent upwardly from the material of the plate proper, having an intermediate space 25 adapted to receive the cross-piece 26 of a unitary U shaped detent member, the springy branches or arms 2'3 of which have at their free ends each an inwardly protruding lug 28 produced as by turning in the material of the detent member. The parallel, vertical guiding cheeks 38 are provided with suitable intermediate spacing, at the end of a plate 3|, serving as a locking plate, which is ar ranged upon the plate if! and displaceable in the longitudinal direction thereof.

The cheeks 30 are provided by bending upwards portions of the material of the plate 3! proper, forming at the same time an opening 32 in which the angle-pieces 23 for securing the detent member extend upwards. At their outer ends the cheeks 33 may be stiffened outwardly by means of transverse angle pieces 38 constituted by upwardly bent end portions of the plate 3!.

Further, the plate It is provided with an angle piece 33 bent to extend upwards through an aperture 34 in the movable locking plate 3| so as to limit the displacement thereof and serving at the same time to co-operate with a locking spring 35 which is secured between two bent up lugs 36, 31 provided at the inner end of the plate 3|. In order to release and displace the locking plate 3| the spring 35 is in usual manner acted upon by a key inserted through a key hole in the casing H and guided'bya pin 39 secured in the plate l6, which pin extends upwards through a longitudinal slot 40 in the locking plate 3 I.

For releasing the lock, the key is turned so that the spring 35 is displaced laterally until free of the angle piece 33 and the locking plate 3| is displaced rearwardly until the front end of the aperture 34 abuts against the angle piece 33, the side of the latter slidably abutting the free, inner end of the spring. During this movement the parallel guiding cheeks 30 are displaced backwards to such an extent that the arm 21 of the U-shaped blocking element are released and owing to their springinessare free to separate from each other so that the distance between the lugs 28 allows the head i of the latch member 6 to pass inwardly and outwardly, as shown in Figure 5. The springiness of the arms 21 is so arranged that in such released position thereof the distancebetween the bent ends 28 is somewhat smaller than the width of the head 1, whereby the blocking element in the released position of the lock may serve as a snap fastener for preliminary securing of the latch member 8.

For positively securing the member 6, the key is turned in opposite direction, whereby the plate 3| is moved in the reverse direction to the relative position shown in Figure 2, in which the guiding cheeks 30 embrace the arms 21 of the detent member and hold the lugs 28 thereof pressed into the side notches 8 of the latch member 6.

The device above describedprovides for reliable locking of the slider 4 by means of a lock which is simple and cheap to manufacture, which occupies little space, and which may be used in connection with sliding-clasp fasteners of all types.

The construction of the device which makes it possible to use the lock as a snap fastener engageable and releasable without the necessity for any special manual action upon the securing members, is evidently an advantageous and meritorious feature of the invention.

The detailed construction may be varied in many ways without departing from the scope of the invention. Thus the latch member 3 may be rigidly attached to the slider, either at the upper or lower-side thereof. In the last mentioned case the lock may be positioned at the inner side of the article and a securing plate, provided with a key hole, at the outer side thereof, in which situation the lock is protected against injury of any kind. Further the lock may be provided at each end with an aperture such as M and two detent elements such as 21, 28, each co-operating with a locking plate in such manner that two sliders may be connected with the lock and secured therein, both by means of a single key, or each by means of a separate key, as may be desired. The latch member 6, if so desired, may be provided with a number of notches at each side, and each of the resilient or resiliently mounted arms 21 with a corresponding number of lugs or bendings.

I claim:

1. In a devicefor closing and looking a slide fastener, a latch member adapted to be secured to a slide of said fastener and having aligned notches adjacent one end, a slidable locking member axially aligned with said latch member and having parallel guiding surfaces adjacent one end, a fixed member having a support thereon positioned intermediate said parallel guiding surfaces, and a U-shaped cletent member mounted on said support and slidably received intermediate said parallel guiding surfaces and having loops at its ends initially engageable in the notches in the latch member and fully received therein w en the looking member is slid towards the latch member.

2. In. a device for closing and locking a slide fastener, a latch member adapted to be secured to a slide of said fastener and having aligned notches adjacent one end, a fixed base plate axially aligned with said latch member, a locking plate mounted upon said fixed base plate for slidable movement in the longitudinal direction of the latter and having parallel guide flanges adjacent one end, and a U-shaped detent member mounted on said fixed base plate and slidably received intermediate said parallel flanges and having loops at its ends initially engageable in the notches in the latch member and fully received therein when the locking plate is slid towards the latch member.

3. In a device for closing and locking a slide fastener, a latch member adapted to be secured to a slide of said fastener and having aligned notches adjacent one end, a base plate axially aligned with said latch member, a locking plate mounted upon said base plate for lidable movement the longitudinal direction of the latter and having parallel guide flanges adjacent one end and end flanges at right angles to and abutting said guide flanges to prevent transverse bending of the latter, and a fixed U-shaped detent member slidably received intermediate said parallel flanges having loops at its ends initially engageable in the notches in the latch member and fully received therein when the locking plate is slid towards the latch member.

4. In a device for closing and looking a slide fastener, a latch member adapted to be secured to a slide of said fastener and having aligned notches adjacent one end, a lock casing having an aperture in one end receiving said latch member and a stationary base plate mounted within the lock casing and having parallel lugs thereon, a substantially U-shaped detent member mounted between said lugs and having its arms extending towards the said aperture in the end of the lock casing and loops at the ends of said arms initially engageable in the notches in the latch member, and a reciprocable plate mounted on said stationary base plate and having an elongated slot therein for receiving the parallel lugs on the base plate and parallel guide flanges thereon in slidable contact with the arms of the U-shaped detent memallel guide flanges adjacent one end, a U-shaped mounted on said first plate and intermediate said parallel guide flanges and hav' 1g loops at its ends initially engageable in the notches in the latch member and fully received therein when the locking plate is slid towards the latch member, and a third plate forming the bottom of said lock casing and adapted to be mounted on the other side of the container to be closed, aid lock casing having thereon bent tongues securing the second plate in position.

5. In a device for closing and looking a slide fastener for hook members including tapes for carrydetent member slidably received F ing the hook members, a latch member adapted to be secured to a slide of said fastener, a lock casing having an aperture in one end receiving said latch member, a first plate within said lock casing adapted to be mounted on one side of a container to be closed by the slide fastener, means members of the slide fastener.

7. In a device for closing and looking a slide fastener for hook members including tapes for carrying the hook members, a latch member adapted References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 398,157 Ivory Feb. 19, 1889 464,884 Liming Dec. 8, 1 891 716,510 Wolf Dec. 23, 1902 1,536,268 Rasmussen May 5, 1925 1,599,150 Taillefer Sept. 7, '1926 1,680,652 Walinsky Aug. 14, 1928 2,001,443 Williams May 14, 1935 2,183,121 Levine Dec. 12, 1939 2,281,000 Carlile Apr. 28, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 564,162 France Dec. 22, 1923 831,788 France 1938 848,701 France 1939 

